anathema
Americannoun
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anathemas,
plural
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anathemata
plural
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a person or thing detested or loathed.
That subject is anathema to him.
-
a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction.
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a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication.
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any imprecation of divine punishment.
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a curse; execration.
noun
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a detested person or thing
he is anathema to me
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a formal ecclesiastical curse of excommunication or a formal denunciation of a doctrine
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the person or thing so cursed
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a strong curse; imprecation
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of anathema
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin, from Greek: “a thing accursed, devoted to evil,” originally “devoted,” from ana(ti)thé(nai) “to set up” + -ma, noun suffix
Explanation
Something that one absolutely and positively cannot stand is anathema. Garlic is anathema to vampires (ditto for stakes and daylight). So is kryptonite to Superman or a silver bullet to a werewolf. Originally the term anathema comes from the Catholic practice of denouncing a particular individual or idea that was antithetical to the Catholic Church. If done to a person, it excommunicated them, meaning they could no longer partake in the church's sacraments (with presumably pretty poor consequences for the soul.) That's a lot worse than kryptonite.
Vocabulary lists containing anathema
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After all, the concept is considered antithetical or anathema to the Iranian Revolution, which deposed the monarchy led by the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in 1979.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
Commercials were anathema to Hastings, but Netflix has now built an ad business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
A cap is anathema to the players’ union.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
An inherent suspicion of good writing is probably anathema to producing good writing.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2025
All forms of obvious vulgarity were anathema to Keith.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
As he pronounced anathemas on you and your kind, the smile peeked out beneath the sneer.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2011
He can insinuate like a violin, wheedle like a clarinet and thunder anathemas like a great bass drum.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Welles-Houseman partnership ended badly, with Welles hurling blazing Sterno heaters at Producer Houseman and howling anathemas at him in that voice of Zeus.
From Time Magazine Archive
She utters her prophecies and anathemas as if the blood of Cassandra were coursing through her veins.
From Time Magazine Archive
From both camps, then as now, they sent forth pamphlets and anathemas.
From Outlines of a Philosophy of Religion based on Psychology and History by Auguste Sabatier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
